Swastika (SPECIAL X THRILLER Book 11)
In the closing days of World War II, Hitler summons SS-General Ernst Streicher to his Berlin bunker to discuss the Third Reich's only hope to win the war - the Wonder Weapons controlled by Himmler's dreaded SS. When an overnight raid by the Allies forces Streicher to abandon his underground Mittelwerk factory assembling V-2 rockets, it sets in motion a monstrous conspiracy that still lies hidden today.
In present-day Vancouver, the RCMP's Special X squad is on the hunt for a pair of Nazi-inspired killers. A Nazi swastika is carved into each victim's forehead.
When Special X turns to the FBI for links to the swastika signature in the United States, the black world of the Pentagon picks up the clue and ties it to the long-kept secret of what crashed at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947.
Moving between wartime Germany and the manhunt in Vancouver, SWASTIKA revolves around a deadly four-sided cat-and-mouse game embroiling the Mounties, Pentagon hit men, and the Nazi psychopaths.
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"CSI: NAZI GERMANY. The attention to detail in SWASTIKA makes for an unsettling read. Slade knows his trade well, and is able to get inside the head of a grizzled cop and a psychotic neo-Nazi with equal skill. Fans won't be disappointed." - Montreal FFWD Weekly
"An action-packed, techno-conspiracy thriller. It is no small testament to Slade's ability that he can craft a genuine emotional core amidst such a maze of plotlines." - Calgary Herald
"A perfect blend of historical background, police procedure, and lightning-fast action, with a dash of horror. Slade's skill at intertwining the past and the present is uncanny. Don't start SWASTIKA unless you can finish it. You won't want to put it down." €“ Crime Spree Magazine
"Michael Slade has a reputation for conducting extensive research before beginning to write his novels. The scenes in Hitler's bunker and the V-2 rocket factory are so descriptive that it's difficult to know where historical fact leaves off and fiction begins. The story races along like a hound on the scent. SWASTIKA will please anyone who enjoys a good thriller with a historical bent." - Quill & Quire
"Slade blends crime genres like no other writer. SWASTIKA is a clever whodunit that will challenge the sharpest readers." €“ Hellnotes
"Slade has made a trademark out of merging the police procedural with the grotesqueries of modern psychological horror. SWASTIKA is a present-day serial killer whodunit rooted deep in the Third Reich." - Rue Morgue
"A fast-paced, far-reaching RCMP thriller directly inspired by the World War II combat experience of Slade€s father." €“ ABCBookWorld
"A time-bending novel that's at once a mystery, a historical adventure, and a serial killer crime novel. Inherently readable, consistently entertaining, and often illuminating, this is fiction with a bite of historical fact. Slade has a wild imagination: the plot will keep you guessing even when you think you've solved it." €“ The Chiaroscuro (ChiZine)
"Nazi-era facts prove to be stranger than fiction. According to my trusty ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE THIRD REICH, this material is largely true." - Edmonton Journal
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Criminal lawyer Michael Slade has acted in over a hundred murder cases. He specializes in the law of insanity.
Slade was guest of honor at both the Bloody Words Crime Convention and the World Horror Convention. He was guest speaker at the international Police Leadership Conference and several RCMP regimental dinners.
In World War II, Slade€s father flew 47 combat missions against the Swastika in Europe and North Africa, 1941€“42. He then trained pilots in the group that attacked SS-Sturmbannfhrer Wernher von Braun€s V-2 rocket complex at Peenemnde, Germany, on August 17-18, 1943.
